Capturing a moment in time is sometimes an impossibility. But I tried to do just that this morning – me and 10,000 other people!  We had all converged on the National Mall to try and capture a look – a moment – a memory – of the Space Shuttle Discovery as it made its last flight to its place of retirement at the National Air and Space Museum.

The excitement on the Mall was palpable.  People were even talking to one another!  We waited and watched.  Watched and waited.  We exchanged stories and shared how we were setting our cameras and what lenses we were using.

And then she flew by — piggy-backed on a NASA 747.  I wanted to experience the moment, but I also wanted a picture – to capture forever this moment in history.  I took out my camera and began to focus, but it seemed like everything was moving so fast.  People were moving in front of me to jockey for a better position, and the wind was blowing the clouds at a fierce rate, not to mention the plane itself was racing by at several hundred miles an hour.

It made me think that sometimes we just need to freeze-frame the moment to be able to enjoy it.  Take everything in.  Savor the feeling, the excitement, the movement of the crowds and clouds, and if you must (as I must!) take a picture so we can go back and re-remember.  It’s all graced.